The invention relates to ball point pens, automatic pencils and the like having the capability of dispensing paper from a self-contained supply so that the user may make a record of telephone numbers, addresses and other brief memoranda in places where an alternative supply of paper may not be readily available.
There have been several attempts to develop small paper dispensing assemblies for use integrally with a pen or automatic pencil, or on the frames of eyeglasses. These efforts have uniformly produced devices comprising two basic parts, namely, an outer cylindrical sheath having a slot therein and an interior reel having the paper would thereon and which feeds the paper through the slot in the outer sheath.
Of these devices, some have paper rolls displaying calendars, maps, or other charts whose use is intended to be repetitive, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 485,261 and 260,143. Typically the leading edge of the paper roll of these units is provided with a marginal bar to prevent complete retraction of the paper into the cylindrical casing, and the interior reel is spring-loaded to provide a constant retracting tension on the roll so that smooth operation is effected and no jambing or buckling of the paper inside the casing occurs.
However, dispensers of disposable paper such as writing paper involve problems not evident in the abovementioned paper dispensers, these problems stemming from the fact that it is desirable to retract the paper completely within the outer casing and out of the way when it is not being used. Of course, in this position the leading edge of the paper cannot be gripped and pulled out with the fingers, so the internal reel must be driven somehow to project the paper through the casing slot, and in so doing, the paper roll, which has a natural tendency to expand anyway, jambs and buckles inside the casing and renders proper operation problematic, if not impossible, over a period of time.
In addition, the prior art devices in general are constructed with the paper dispenser as the focal point and the remaining structure designed accordingly so that special tooling would be required to produce many, if not all, parts of the units.